…what a wonderful day!
It’s summertime! Time to get out and see what there is to see. One of the things I’ve been thinking about getting out to see for some time is the trails in Fruita, Colorado.
Twenty-four years ago, me and a bunch of my mountain-bike buddies made a summer road trip from Houston to Colorado to do some mountain biking on actual mountains. I know it was precisely 24 years ago because I had just purchased the fanciest car I’d ever owned, a 2002 Audi allroad, and that was its inaugural road trip. My buddies all had pickups and SUVs and one day we made a side trip out to a designated OHV area in the desert north of town. I remember following them over some steep, rolling four-wheel-drive trails. The sight of my shiny new Eurowagon following their lifted trucks off road was rather amusing.
But I hadn’t been back since then. And the thing about Fruita is, it’s in the desert. Real desert. It gets hot in the summer — vultures-circling-over-your-head, mirage-seeing, egg-frying-on-pavement hot. And here it is already June. Time to get cracking!
Fruita is a three-and-a-half-hour drive from Salida, so to allow for an early morning ride start I planned for an overnight stay the night before. When I rolled into town at around 6:00 p.m. it was still 94 degrees. I checked in to the scenic La Quinta Inn, found a place for dinner in Fruita’s funky downtown, ate and went to bed.
The next morning, after a complimentary breakfast (of course), I loaded up the car and headed out of town to the North Fruita Desert Campground. The area there, referred to as the Book Cliffs when we rode it 24 years ago, these days is more commonly called 18 Road, after the road that takes you there. As for that road, I was amazed to see the rutted, washboarded, barely-an-excuse-for-a-road that I remembered had been recently paved with smooth, freshly-painted pavement. I had wheels down shortly after 7:00 a.m.
The 18 Road trails are a collection of flow-type trails that drop through the foothills at the base of the Book Cliffs. There are designated uphill and downhill routes. Most of them are 2 – 3 miles one way so this isn’t big adventure riding, it’s more about having fun and testing your skills over a variety of flowy, high-speed descents. What’s cool is most of the terrain is natural. Flow trails typically rely on man-made features like jumps and berms. Aside from one trail, PBJ, most of the 18 Road trails primarily utilize natural terrain to generate flow. It makes for some really unique, fun riding.
My first climb of the day, Up Dog.
The Book Cliffs from Prime Cut.
The view from Highlander.
There were a few bright colors hidden in the browns and tans of the desert.
My only complaint the whole day was that for some reason, many of the trail signs were missing. I’m guessing they’re in the process of updating the signs and just haven’t gotten to all of them yet. The ones that were there were great.
Some were just printed on small pieces of paper.
Some were stapled to dead trees.
Some were just posts awaiting future signs.
When in doubt, I used the Trailforks web site which had a current trail map. I only got semi-lost once. I did four laps up and down. Not all of the trails, but enough to get a good sampling of what 18 Road has to offer. Here’s the video.
And for those considering a trip to Fruita, a few thoughts on the trails I rode:
Downhill trails
Zippity Do Da – The classic. The inspiration for the ridiculous title of this post and, in my opinion, the main reason to go to 18 Road. It’s not technical in terms of rock features but it’s considered a black because of its ample exposure and rollercoaster-steep drops. So much fun.
PBJ – Fast and fun. Man-made features mixed with natural terrain provide plenty of opportunities to separate tire from terra firma. Some exposure and short, moderately steep sections.
PBR – Smooth and flowy. No exposure and nothing steep. Plenty fun but compared to the other trails I rode, it felt more like a green trail.
Joe’s Ridge / Mojoe – (That’s “Mojoe” with an “e”. Get it?) A mini Zippity. Fast and flowy ridge riding with less steepness than Zippity. If you’re not sure whether you can handle Zippity, try Joe’s first, then decide.
Uphill trails
Prime Cut – The main climbing trail for the network. Runs adjacent to 18 Road at the same gentle grade. A few rocky gully crossings but mostly non-technical. Honestly, kind of boring, but it gets you where you need to go.
Up Dog – West of 18 Road. Some mildly steep sections but all rideable, non-technical. More interesting and scenic terrain than Prime Cut. An enjoyable climb.
Grinder – Far east of 18 Road. Long and twisty with some interesting technical sections where the trail dips into the many gullies it crosses. More of a cross-country feel due to its length and multiple ups and downs.
Other trails
Frontside – An excellent connector trail along the top of the network. Some flowy sections, some climby sections. Minimally technical, all rideable.
Highlander – A short, twisty traversing trail above Frontside. Lots of quick ups and downs, tight turns, and some exposure. Worth the climb to get to it.
Edge Loop – I only rode the first part from 18 Road to Grinder. Flat and smooth. A good connector trail to get you to the climbs on the east end of the network.
Final thoughts
I remember being intimidated by Zippity Do Da when we rode it 24 years ago. Coming from the hilly-at-best terrain of Texas, I had never seen anything like it. Now, after having ridden in Colorado for six years on terrain nearly as steep and much more technical, it just felt fun.
I will say it seems climbier than I remember. Maybe that’s because I’m 24 years older; but maybe it’s just how we remember things. As a counterpoint, on that trip 24 years ago, we only did one loop up and down and I remember being pretty much spent at the end of it. Of course, we were dumb tourists that did it in August in 100-degree heat. So who knows?
All I do know is, it was great to ride Zippity again and to discover all the other trails in the 18 Road network. Definitely worth the trip!